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Canada ruffling Russian feathers

So our Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says that it was “provocative” for Russian jets to “buzz” a Canadian frigate in the Black Sea, practically in Russia’s backyard.

The frigate HMCS Toronto was part of a flotilla of 12 ships engaged in a military exercise. Other nations involved include the U.S., Ukraine, Romania and Turkey and Nicholson says the Russian action risks a further escalation in the tension between western nations and Russia over Moscow’s dispute with Ukraine.

Hmmmm. I suppose Nicholson does not view the presence of the 12-vessel fleet to be a provocation of its own, despite the fact that Black Sea ports are home to Russian naval ships. He says the exercise is just meant to “send a signal” to Moscow.

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Peter Dickens, Scarborough

If the Russians and their allies were carrying out military exercises in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, wouldn’t the Canadian Air Force want to take a close look? Who’s provoking whom?

Shouldn’t Canada be encouraging a peaceful way out of the Ukraine crisis instead of rattling sabres?

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